Jerry Abbott, the father of PANTERA‘s founding members, drummer Vincent “Vinnie Paul” Abbott and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, passed away last night at a caregiving facility in Denton, Texas. He was said to be just five days shy of his 81st birthday celebration.
Danny Wood Sr., a close friend of Jerry, confirmed his passing on April 3 via his social media post, writing: “I’m very sad to tell everyone of the passing of a close friend Jerry Abbott. He died last night in a Denton care giving facility. His Family is having a private Funeral for Family and close Friends with a Memorial Service being planned. Details soon.”
Abbott oversaw the production of PANTERA‘s first three albums – Metal Magic in 1983, Projects In The Jungle in 1984, and I Am The Night in 1985. He engineered their 1988 record Power Metal, releasing all four through his Metal Magic Records label. Abbott later collaborated with PANTERA once more for their 1994 album Far Beyond Driven, recorded at his Abtrax Recording studio.
A decade following Dimebag‘s passing, Jerry published a book titled Over My Left Shoulder: The Life And Times Of Jerry Abbott through CreateSpace, the publishing platform affiliated with the worldwide online retailer and publisher Amazon.
Discussing the breakup of PANTERA, Jerry, who admitted to having “very little contact” with his sons “from the time [the band] began their world tour in support of Cowboys From Hell until they began recording Far Beyond Driven,” remarked: “Too much success can breed failure and often does. I think that’s an accurate assessment of what happened to PANTERA. It’s like a marriage that’s just too good to believe, and the next thing you know it’s on the rocks.”
“What happened? Who knows? People grow apart. People have different ideas. People develop physical or mental problems. Booze and drugs don’t help the situation, and one unhappy camper can spoil the whole bunch.
“PANTERA had been to the top of the marquee more than once and lived to tell about it, but this time it was not to be. The year 2003 marked the end of PANTERA.”
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.